Romans 1:32

1:32 Although they fully know ¹  God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, ²  they not only do them but also approve of those who practice them. ³ 

Romans 4:16

4:16 For this reason it is by faith so that it may be by grace, ⁴  with the result that the promise may be certain to all the descendants – not only to those who are under the law, but also to those who have the faith of Abraham, ⁵  who is the father of us all

Romans 5:14

5:14 Yet death reigned from Adam until Moses even over those who did not sin in the same way that Adam (who is a type ⁶  of the coming one) transgressed. ⁷ 

Romans 6:13

6:13 and do not present your members to sin as instruments ⁸  to be used for unrighteousness, ⁹  but present yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead and your members to God as instruments ¹⁰  to be used for righteousness.

Romans 7:7

7:7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Absolutely not! Certainly, I ¹¹  would not have known sin except through the law. For indeed I would not have known what it means to desire something belonging to someone else ¹²  if the law had not said, “Do not covet.” ¹³ 

Romans 7:13

7:13 Did that which is good, then, become death to me? Absolutely not! But sin, so that it would be shown to be sin, produced death in me through what is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful.

Romans 8:9

8:9 You, however, are not in ¹⁴  the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, this person does not belong to him.

Romans 8:23

8:23 Not only this, but we ourselves also, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, ¹⁵  groan inwardly as we eagerly await our adoption, ¹⁶  the redemption of our bodies. ¹⁷ 

Romans 8:26

8:26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how we should pray, ¹⁸  but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with inexpressible groanings.

Romans 10:8

10:8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” ¹⁹  (that is, the word of faith that we preach),

Romans 10:18

10:18 But I ask, have they ²⁰  not heard? ²¹  Yes, they have: ²²  Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world. ²³ 

Romans 12:2-3

12:2 Do not be conformed ²⁴  to this present world, ²⁵  but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve ²⁶  what is the will of God – what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.

Conduct in Humility

12:3 For by the grace given to me I say to every one of you not to think more highly of yourself than you ought to think, but to think with sober discernment, as God has distributed to each of you ²⁷  a measure of faith. ²⁸ 

Romans 12:20

12:20 Rather, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing this you will be heaping burning coals on his head. ²⁹ 

Romans 13:3

13:3 (for rulers cause no fear for good conduct but for bad). Do you desire not to fear authority? Do good and you will receive its commendation,

Romans 16:18

16:18 For these are the kind who do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By their smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds ³⁰  of the naive.

[1:32]  ¹ tn Grk “who, knowing…, not only do them but also approve…” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[1:32]  ² tn Grk “are worthy of death.”

[1:32]  ³ sn “Vice lists” like vv. 28-32 can be found elsewhere in the NT in Matt 15:19; Gal 5:19-21; 1 Tim 1:9-10; and 1 Pet 4:3. An example from the intertestamental period can be found in Wis 14:25-26.

[4:16]  ⁴ tn Grk “that it might be according to grace.”

[4:16]  ⁵ tn Grk “those who are of the faith of Abraham.”

[5:14]  ⁷ tn Or “pattern.”

[5:14]  ⁸ tn Or “disobeyed”; Grk “in the likeness of Adam’s transgression.”

[6:13]  ¹⁰ tn Or “weapons, tools.”

[6:13]  ¹¹ tn Or “wickedness, injustice.”

[6:13]  ¹² tn Or “weapons, tools.”

[7:7]  ¹³ sn Romans 7:7-25. There has been an enormous debate over the significance of the first person singular pronouns (“I”) in this passage and how to understand their referent. Did Paul intend (1) a reference to himself and other Christians too; (2) a reference to his own pre-Christian experience as a Jew, struggling with the law and sin (and thus addressing his fellow countrymen as Jews); or (3) a reference to himself as a child of Adam, reflecting the experience of Adam that is shared by both Jews and Gentiles alike (i.e., all people everywhere)? Good arguments can be assembled for each of these views, and each has problems dealing with specific statements in the passage. The classic argument against an autobiographical interpretation was made by W. G. Kümmel, Römer 7 und die Bekehrung des Paulus. A good case for seeing at least an autobiographical element in the chapter has been made by G. Theissen, Psychologische Aspekte paulinischer Theologie [FRLANT], 181-268. One major point that seems to favor some sort of an autobiographical reading of these verses is the lack of any mention of the Holy Spirit for empowerment in the struggle described in Rom 7:7-25. The Spirit is mentioned beginning in 8:1 as the solution to the problem of the struggle with sin (8:4-6, 9).

[7:7]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “I would not have known covetousness.”

[7:7]  ¹⁵ sn A quotation from Exod 20:17 and Deut 5:21.

[8:9]  ¹⁶ tn Or “are not controlled by the flesh but by the Spirit.”

[8:23]  ¹⁹ tn Or “who have the Spirit as firstfruits.” The genitive πνεύματος (pneumatos) can be understood here as possessive (“the firstfruits belonging to the Spirit”) although it is much more likely that this is a genitive of apposition (“the firstfruits, namely, the Spirit”); cf. TEV, NLT.

[8:23]  ²⁰ tn See the note on “adoption” in v. 15.

[8:23]  ²¹ tn Grk “body.”

[8:26]  ²² tn Or “for we do not know what we ought to pray for.”

[10:8]  ²⁵ sn A quotation from Deut 30:14.

[10:18]  ²⁸ tn That is, Israel (see the following verse).

[10:18]  ²⁹ tn Grk “they have not ‘not heard,’ have they?” This question is difficult to render in English. The basic question is a negative sentence (“Have they not heard?”), but it is preceded by the particle μή (mh) which expects a negative response. The end result in English is a double negative (“They have not ‘not heard,’ have they?”). This has been changed to a positive question in the translation for clarity. See BDAG 646 s.v. μή 3.a.; D. Moo, Romans (NICNT), 666, fn. 32; and C. E. B. Cranfield, Romans (ICC), 537, for discussion.

[10:18]  ³⁰ tn Here the particle μενοῦνγε (menounge) is correcting the negative response expected by the particle μή (mh) in the preceding question. Since the question has been translated positively, the translation was changed here to reflect that rendering.

[10:18]  ³¹ sn A quotation from Ps 19:4.

[12:2]  ³¹ tn Although συσχηματίζεσθε (suschmatizesqe) could be either a passive or middle, the passive is more likely since it would otherwise have to be a direct middle (“conform yourselves”) and, as such, would be quite rare for NT Greek. It is very telling that being “conformed” to the present world is viewed as a passive notion, for it may suggest that it happens, in part, subconsciously. At the same time, the passive could well be a “permissive passive,” suggesting that there may be some consciousness of the conformity taking place. Most likely, it is a combination of both.

[12:2]  ³² tn Grk “to this age.”

[12:2]  ³³ sn The verb translated test and approve (δοκιμάζω, dokimazw) carries the sense of “test with a positive outcome,” “test so as to approve.”

[12:3]  ³⁴ tn The words “of you” have been supplied for clarity.

[12:3]  ³⁵ tn Or “to each as God has distributed a measure of faith.”

[12:20]  ³⁷ sn A quotation from Prov 25:21-22.

[16:18]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “hearts.”